Tuesday, May 30, 2006

It is my belief that communication is one of, if not the, most important part of a relationship. However having said this I have learned that communication has three parts. These are;1) Express 2) Listen 3) Act

For most people, myself included, part 1 to be the easiest to follow. Of course, others also know that Part 2 is eminently essential for communication to work.Where I have faltered in the past, however, is the part that makes “communication” really work to strengthen a relationship. After expressing your self and hearing what the other has to say, the next step is to act on this exchange of information, setting in motion events/actions that will strengthen the foundations of ones relationship. Strengthen your foundations enough… then the sky will be the limit.

Aside: Have you ever had someone in your life that constantly makes you want to be a better person. I think if you ever find such a person u should hold on to them, I certainly plan to.

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Again we have come to the end of another lyme.I will not bother to rehash the pain of the near 4 HOURS spent on Mount Russo. Instead I would wish to big up some key people.

To the members of the Lyme committee, well done. I think for some reason this lyme was slightly more taxing on us, and we pulled through.

Like last year and even more so this year, the really creative brains behind the whole operation was Le Anne’s. Believe me guys, without her the lyme would have been a boring fiasco. Her input basically shaped the Lyme (at least the original plan).

I have always had respect for our manager, but after this lyme, it has reached new levels, I am near in awe of this guys organizational skills. The way he effortlessly kept on top of everything while seeming to remain in ‘windows’ mode the whole time is amazing. For this year’s lyme I would say Richard was the organizational, and logistics mastermind behind it all (the part that went according to plan at least). I shudder to think what it would have been like without him. I can safely say I would feel safe in any project he manages.

The New kid on the block, Kerise, was almost like a glue holding the team together, they way she facilitated the 2 juggernauts (RC an LR) of the team was amazing. Ever willing and ever ready. Believe me that was no easy task, without her we all would have burnt out a long time ago. I am looking forward to her being on next year’s committee. She is a person you can truly depend on.

Aside from this I have to big up Adrian, for helping me set up the rooms after we reached. Believe me if he hadn’t taken it upon himself to help out, I think I would have gone crazy. U have no idea how grateful I am for your help, but nuff thanks.

Of course I could not finish this blog without thanking mummy. Without her we all would have starved. All will say is a deep heartfelt thanks. Like any mom who seems to be able to deal with and fix any problem, Mummy Mel has saved us too many times to count. Her seemingly inexhaustible stores of energy basically carried us through this weekend making sure we were all well fed, even those who ‘missed the boat’. Again I shudder to think what weekend would have been without her. Nuff Nuff Thanks and Respect.

To the rest of you guys who made this weekend work nuff thanks, it turned out to be a decent lyme, not the best I have ever been on, but definitely a good one none the less, looking forward to next year. I suspect I may take a break from the summer lyme committee then, not totally decided yet, we will see.

Aside: I propose to have “Suss Master” removed from the list of vibes awards as I believe we have serious problems with ballot stuffing where that vote is concerned

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

I have always looked at with a little envy at those people have a driving passion for Christ. Those people who will go to church every day of the week and be glad they did. To them it is only a mild sacrifice.

Growing up with a father and 2 uncles as pastors it I have learned such fervor would have made my life much easier. I look at my parents and to an extent my siblings, and find myself wishing to feel as passionately about it as they feel.

What I am most passionate about is pan, going to practice 3 days a week is not a sacrifice. Actually it’s more like a break. Like I told a friend a few years ago, pan provides for me an outlet, a chance to relax and de-stress.

For many years I used to pray & hope that a mirror of my passion for pan would find somehow find its way into my spiritual life, but alas that has not been the case.

Interestingly enough, there has been an individual who has entered an integral part of my life that has taught me a large part of ones Christian walk is sacrifice. This is a hard concept to adapt simply because I am a very lazy person and sacrifice requires discipline. Quite often I am fascinated to see how easy it is for me to make it to work almost every Sunday, yet finding my way to church once a month requires a Herculean effort.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not a workaholic, far from it, I just happen to like what I do.

Now I am at a point where growth with respect to my spiritual life is at a crawl, and it seems almost impossible to work up the energy to get it to move any faster.

When a male and a female decide to form a unit, referred to society as a couple, it is interesting to see how they adjust to this new change in ‘status’. As with other such concepts in society, relationships come with their own set of rules and guidelines.

As always the human race, in its never-ending quest to prove to whomever that its capacity for barbarism is unparalleled, has entered a new phase of conflict.

Looking throughout history we see wars and ‘conflicts’ (difference being fewer military deaths, collateral damage usually remains the same though), constantly cropping up to satisfy our apparent need for unbridled violence.

In recent times the world has seen the ‘Cold War’ where two countries stacked up on enough weapons to wipe themselves of the face of the planet, while playing deadly games of chess with third world countries, where young people were/are recruited to fight in ‘idealistic wars’.

A major part of this is fueled by the concept that some ideals are worth dying for.

Now, it can be argued that the most precious thing you own is your life, and it is yours to spend as you wish. There are times, however, I think that the idea that one would lay down ones life for a ‘belief’, an idea, a un-quantifiable thought in ones head is ludicrous.

I honestly believe the need for such extreme views stem from the need we as humans have for cramming our own beliefs down each other’s throats. In other words, we believe our beliefs are such that they cannot co-exist with others that differ too far from ours.

I hear the more religious folks beginning to get uncomfortable

Now the beliefs that seem to spark the most conflict are those that directly relate to power. In the pass 50 plus years they have been based on methods of governance and, most recently, religion.

On an aside, it is amazing how religion seems to be a recurring reason for conflict throughout the history of our so-called civilization. It is almost as if it is a great ‘filler reason’ until we find the next ‘good cause’ to start killing each other over.

Now that the cold war is over and ‘capitalism’ has won out, the ever-reliable filler has stepped in. It is interesting however to see how these same pawns from the last ‘war’ are the ones who are the front runners for this one.

Aspects of the international Muslim community have seen it fit to bring their fight/war to the world. I must say it is only fair. The western world has already used them, not to mention the fact that, there was no one to blog about the crusades back in the day when ‘Christian Extremist’ felt that Muslims should be wiped of the face of the earth.

There is a confusion however, I seem unable to pinpoint what it is exactly these extremist want. I mean, there is always a cause for the moment such as Iraq, Palestine and Iran, but what is their long-term goal. When history books are written 70 yrs from now what will they say the ‘terrorist’ (not Bush this time) wanted?

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Here it is we have a prominent politician charged with rape. The nature of such situations is such that these people have enough wealth and power to make any conviction difficult.

Now, I am not saying I think he was guilty, I am just saying I don’t know.

For the victim (if she was not lying) this must be a terrible moment, the mere act of going through with this trial must have took a Herculean effort. To know that the entire world knows about this dark moment in your life is something that I admire her strength and courage.

On the other hand I must look at the possibility that this could all be an attempt by Zuma’s opponents to smear his character, in such a case this trial would not be too hard, I sure she would have been adequately compensated.

In either case, in all the press coverage, I have yet to see or hear in any news report the face or name of the victim, yet such is the nature of the media, she does not matter, never did really, she is just a minor player on a much ‘grander’ stage.

In a program on BBC a caller made a comment to the effect that we should not forget that most news agencies are profit making organizations, and as such there ‘agenda’ and focus will be geared towards that end.

Monday, May 08, 2006

I have taken to thinking that I am able to look at human interactions (whether or not they involve myself) from a perspective ‘outside of the box’. It provides an interesting view on the little rituals that we as human beings go through in the name of ‘civilized’ (term used loosely) behavior.

Such an attitude has its drawbacks however, as it gives you the illusion that you are the only one who notices these things. The fact is, although my testosterone bolstered pride would have me believe that I am very proficient in understanding the nuances of human behavior, there are those who are far more versed at it than I am, and they use this knowledge far more proficiently than I. Not only that, but they do so without thinking.

In light of this, I am required to ‘keep’ myself in check, lest someone do so for me. Much easier said than done. For now I have gained a new appreciation for the irony of the country western song that states:

I put it to you the accumulation of wealth is the root of 99.9% of the evil in the world today the rest is just insanity.

President Mugabe has, for the last couple of years, been systematically driving his country into the ground. He has amassed himself a huge amount of wealth while the avg. citizen suffers greatly (HUGE UNDERSTATEMENT). The country has an inflation rate of approx. 1000%.

Now when I hear stories like that and I hear how the Chinese have been supporting him economically, and have benefited by winning a number of state contracts. When I hear even further that their weapons are being sold throughout Africa, fueling conflicts all across the region. I feel helpless and hopeless. It pains me to know they are doing the same thing America did (and Does) and will prob. see the same result: World Super Power

There are times I look at the human race and I wonder why would any god put up with our existence. For every good deed done there are thousands of atrocities that go unstopped or unpunished.I look at Muslim extremist who find it ok to take life indiscriminately for a ‘cause’, and I cant condemn them simply because My religion has already had its ‘Crusade’.

Timing is one of the most important things to learn when trying to master 'Human Interaction'. Almost anything can be said when the timing is right. But one must be careful to overdo it If you are given an open use it efficiently and not in access less the window of opportunity be closed again.